Get Swimsuit Ready by Spring Break!

With spring break just a few months away, and plenty of us taking warm-weather vacations during cold-weather months, now is the time to start thinking of working on your swimsuit-ready body! Whether you want to rock a sexy new bikini or just look a little more toned in your tasteful tankini, we’ve got the keys to getting your body swimsuit ready in just a couple of months. And we know you’re all super busy, so getting to the gym isn’t something everyone has time to do! So these four techniques can be worked into your normal day to help you lose fat and tone to prep for that hot new swimsuit on spring break, or getting bikini ready for your upcoming cruise or tropical vacation!

Cardio
We’ve all heard how important cardio is. It’s the basic component of any weight loss plan. But you don’t have to be in the gym for 3 hours everyday to get the cardio you need! In fact, some exercise programs recommend interval training and short-burst exercise – even 15 minutes a day can help you get the cardio you need! The key is short, intense workouts to get your heart rate up and boost your metabolism.

Go for a quick (short!) run before your morning shower, or after you get home from work but before you start dinner. Run up and down your stairs at home. You don’t need a gym membership to improve your fitness! Do short burst workouts a couple of times a day and you’ll be surprised by how much of a difference it makes! (And it’s a lot easier to find 15 minutes to workout than to commit an hour or more to the gym.)

Resistance/Strength Training
Cardio can help you burn fat, but if you want to get toned, you’ll want to add resistance or strength training to your day. You can buy resistance bands cheap at your local sporting good or big box store, or online. If you don’t want to spend the cash, you can even use household items to get in your strength training – start with a quart of milk, and move up to a gallon as you get toned! The key to toning a female body is lots of reps with lighter weights. As long as you stick with that mantra, you’ll never have to worry about bulking up, body-builder style (that’s really difficult for a female body, by the way!)- you’ll just look fit, feminine and sexy!

Diet and Hydration
Getting bikini-ready isn’t without sacrifice! It’s time to stop eating like it’s the holidays and moderate your food intake. Try cutting your portion sizes down by 1/4 to start. Or use a food tracking app or website to monitor your intake and what goes out. If you need a kick-start, you can try a cleanse, or try cutting certain foods, like caffeine and dairy. There are plenty of good food plans out there, depending on what you want to achieve.

But deprivation doesn’t have to be the watchword of the day – if you switch your processed foods and sugars to natural, unprocessed foods, including adding more fruits and veggies, you’ll be amazed at how much you can eat and how satisfied you’ll feel. Don’t have time to cook every day? Some of the fast food salads are surprisingly healthy nowadays, or you can cook and freeze on the weekends so tasty, healthy food will be ready for you during the week.

And don’t forget to hydrate! Water is essential to the weight loss process; it’ll help you feel fuller, help you stay energetic and help flush the toxins from your body as you lose weight. Most of us could stand to drink a lot more of it!

Now is the time – small, incremental changes to your lifestyle can translate to big gains if you want to get swimsuit ready by spring break!